Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Melissa and Doug discounts

I LOVE Melissa and Doug toys. They are not cheap, but they are adorable! Today Amazon is having a sale on a lot of their Melissa and Doug toys. Search Amazon.com for melissa and doug if you want to see some of the goodies they have on sale. I especially love thisMelissa & Doug Fold and Go Mini Dollhouse. Also, I love the lace and trace toys, puzzles, and beads. All fun stuff.

How to do kindergarten for cheap

Ok, so as you know I love to save a few dollars so I am all about really really inexpensive ways to do our home schooling this year. Here are a few of the resource I am using.


Starfall.com So far I am really impressed with this site. They have online games and lots of printables for FREE. They also have some resources available to purchase, but honestly I'm super happy with the freebies.

Another program I like is hooked on phonics. Now, if you were like me you made a lot of fun of this when you were a kid. But it is honestly a great program. This is the program I have and it has been awesome for Isaac. However, the actual website Hooked on Phonics runs great sales on their overstock. I think I paid less than $20 for a two year program.

Another great place to snag deals is the dollar spot at Target. They have lots of workbooks, educational toys, and other great tools to keep on hand. Right now they have bags of counting blocks which are great for Pre K. Use them to work on patterns, colors, counting, or sorting. I find keeping egg cartons are good for making patterns and sorting.

Other sites I have found that I like are:
http://www.printactivities.com/Tracing.html
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/level1.php
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/


http://moneysavingmom.com/2010/07/15-favorite-preschool-and-kindergarten-resources-part-1.html

These are a few of my faves I also have lots of books I've found at garage sales and other fun stuff I have acquired from here or there.  Any one else have a fave site to share or a program you love?

Why would you want to home school.

This video makes me giggle because I can tell this is what some people are thinking when we tell them we plan to home school. While the train of 25 kids may  not be too far off from the truth, I like to think we are a pretty normal family.

So why do I want to home school my kids? I have a long list of reasons, but before I get into any of them I want to say that we don't think this is the only right option. Dan and I are not 100% sure that we will home school all our children until they graduate. We see huge benefit in doing so, but we also know we can't tell the future. We don't know that public or private education may not meet our family's needs later down the road. But for now we see home schooling as the option we are choosing to start with.

I have always loved teaching materials. I would play school all the time as a kid. I love making bulletin boards and putting together lesson plans. I love to teach kids. So for me this was a great way to use that passion. As Dan and I talked about it this has always been what we have leaned toward. We want to be in charge of training our children's hearts. We want to teach them the fundamentals of what we believe and why. We are firm believers that we are in charge of our children's education no matter what form that may be. Even if they were in school we would still be very involved. I love the fact that home schooling allows me to pour into my kids during a precious time I'll never get back. We have seen families who home school who are so close and I feel like a large part of that is the investment the parents are willing to put in during the younger years.

I am not saying this is the best or only way. It just is something I am looking forward to for this coming year. I know God is going to teach me so much through this experience.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Grocery Galore

Tonight I went to CVS, Cub, and Kroger. I found some pretty good deals too.

CVS I just went for some freebies. I snagged 4 packs of Pantilines and 1 contact solution. I paid$0.35 OOP and received 3.99 in ECB.

Cub foods has a great cereal deal going . I plan on going back a few more times this week. I bought 8 boxes of cereal for $1.85. They run this deal a few times a year and that is when I stock up on our cereal.

Kroger has the mega event running right now. To make that sweeter there is a Kraft catalina making shredded cheese$0.88/pack and cream cheese free. This came at a good time because we were out of cheese. I was able to get some organic milk on clearance and I also had a coupon for free Stonyfield farm yogurt (we love this stuff). With the mega event I was able to get some princess spaghettios free. We have some friends coming next week, and I know one little girl who will be excited. All in all I spent $28.52 OOP.


My total tonight was $30.72
I saved a total of $89.66
I love that God is constantly teaching me. Sometimes the things he is teaching me are things I should already know. He just points them out in new and different ways. One thing I have always struggled with is rest. We are commanded to have a Sabbath every week and yet I continually find ways to "work" instead of rest.

My plan for yesterday was to stay home with our family and rest. Dan slept in and took a nap, but I found myself cranky and frustrated. I was trying to get things done, but my productivity was so low. Finally, in the afternoon Dan told me he wanted me to go up and take a nap. I fought it, but I eventually listened. It is amazing how I fight what I know I need.

Today in my devotion I was reading in Exodus 18 about Moses. Jethro, his father in law, told him that he shouldn't try to do it all on his own and he needed to delegate. This was good for not only him, but for the rest of the people under him. I have read Exodus several times and this is something new that jumped out at me today. Sometimes I need to not try and do it all. I need to remember that the Lord gave us the Sabbath because he created us. He knows better than I do and I need to be obedient. I also, have to learn to share my load. Asking for help is not only ok, it is Biblical.   :) Ok, I could keep going, but now I need to break up some kids fighting over a Buzz Light year toy.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

CVS trip this morning

Here is my loot from CVS today. I was a little bummed because they were all out of pantyliner, but I will try back in a few days. But I am excited that I was able to get these diapers and other goodies for super cheap. All in all the cost fort today would have been $17.60. My out of pocket was $1.58 of which $0.84 was tax! Plus, I left with $7 in ECB for next week! Like I said my hope is to go back and get the free pantyliner later this week.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

CVS this week

I made a quick trip to CVS today after church. I haven't been doing CVS for awhile because I had just been so well stocked, and honestly the sales hadn't been all that exciting. However, lately I've been able to get some great deals. Here's what I got today:

1 Complete Multi Purpose solution
1 Root awakening shampoo
1 Root Awakening conditioner
1 papermate 10 ct pens
1 5" scissors

My total came to $5.37 and saved$27.88.  I also received $15 in ECB.